States » EastPosted at: Oct 4 2026 4:00PM


Satellite tag traces Odisha Olive Ridley turtle's 6,719-km marine journey to Sri Lanka

Bhubaneswar, Oct 4 (UNI) A satellite-tagged Olive Ridley from Odisha travelled 6,719 km in 271 days to waters east of Sri Lanka, in a striking finding of the species’ vast marine range.
The species’ vast marine range remains beyond its nesting beaches while its conservation has traditionally focused on its nesting beaches, according to the latest study on movement and nesting habits of Olive turtles, accorded as schedule-1 animal under wildlife protection act for its highly threatened status,
Tracking of 10 turtles has so far generated 1,748 days of data, revealing distinct male-female movement patterns, offshore stopovers and extensive journeys across the Bay of Bengal.
The findings are from a three-year programme launched in 2025 by the Odisha Forest Department, Wildlife Institute of India (WII), Dhamra Port Company Ltd and the Adani Foundation. The programme revives large-scale satellite telemetry after more than a decade and aims to identify marine habitats and migration routes critical to Odisha’s Olive Ridley population.
Odisha hosts the world’s largest documented mass-nesting of Olive Ridley turtles. Mass nesting was first recorded at Gahirmatha in 1976 and later documented at the Devi River mouth and Rushikulya.
During the first year, researchers fitted transmitters to six females and four males. Two nesting females were tagged at Gahirmatha in March 2025, followed by three mating pairs at Gahirmatha and one at Rushikulya in December.
The initial data show clear differences in near-shore residency, with males generally staying for shorter periods and females remaining longer during the nesting season.
Post-breeding movements varied widely. Some turtles remained in the northern Bay of Bengal, while others travelled south. Researchers also identified offshore stopover or slow-moving phases near the continental shelf breaks off the Sundarbans, Andhra Pradesh and the central Bay of Bengal, pointing to potentially important marine habitats.
One tagged turtle was confirmed dead shortly after tagging, while signals from seven others ceased without the cause being established.
The study has also examined changes in the three major nesting rookeries. Between 2020 and 2025, Gahirmatha was broadly accretion-dominated, Devi remained highly dynamic and Rushikulya experienced sustained erosion. Such changes could affect the future availability and distribution of nesting habitat.
The three rookeries form part of a connected deltaic system shaped by river discharge, sediment supply and coastal processes. Changes in sediment flows, including those linked to dams and embankments, can alter nesting beaches.
Earlier telemetry showed that Odisha’s Olive Ridleys use near-shore waters extending roughly 30 to 400 km from the mainland for aggregation, mating and inter-nesting movements before undertaking longer migrations across the Bay of Bengal.
The new programme combines satellite telemetry with boat surveys, movement modelling and remote-sensing analysis of shoreline change. Ten transmitters were deployed in 2025-26, with another 20 planned for 2026-27.
The objective is to map critical marine habitats and migration corridors, extending Olive Ridley conservation beyond Odisha’s nesting beaches into the wider Bay of Bengal.
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Tags: #Satellite tag traces Odisha Olive Ridley turtle's 6#719-km marine journey to Sri Lanka
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